


Of Shapes and Shiny People

by EmilyKaldwin



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol, Fluff, M/M, feat. Pike and Percy, grog is smitten and it shows, takes place during that one conversation in ep 84, turns out writing in grogs pov is harder than i thought
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 15:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10539744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmilyKaldwin/pseuds/EmilyKaldwin
Summary: Fancy alcohol, existential discussions and a recently resurrected friend might help you when you're trying to find a way to show a certain paladin how you feel.Or, how Grog experienced that one conversation in episode 84.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A little thing about Grog and Kerrek and bonding over expensive booze, because I am weak for this pairing.  
> If most of the dialogue looks like it was lifted from the episode you'd be correct.

Grog didn’t know a lot about all the fancy things written in books, but he knew how to see shapes in people. And Kerrek was shaped like a good person.

I mean, he had to be right? With the way Keykey was shining when he talked to her and how he could calm down everyone, and how his eyes were always twinkling when he helped someone. Grog knew that sometimes people faked being good so they could hurt them easier (Percy called that “politics” with that weird half laugh he does when things aren’t actually funny). But Kerr wasn’t like that.

* * *

It wasn’t very long after they had left the creepy necromancer island and fixed Scanlan with his song and Pike’s poem and Kaylie’s music. Not very long at all actually, maybe… a couple hours? Anyway, Grog was waiting in front of Scanlan’s room and keeping an eye for any of those sneaky Clasp guys who got the drop on him _once_ , but he heard someone coming who was clearly not trying to be stealthy. Kerrek was a bit like Pike that way, not really bothered when they couldn’t sneak around without their armor clanging, and that was another thing he liked about him. And his cool beard too.

“This is, uh, a better sort of vigil that I have seen in the past.” Okay, seen better openers, but it had been a rough night.

“Well that is true, that could have been much worse- _what_ is this?” he answered, noticing the fancy looking bottle the paladin was pointing his way.

“Uuuuhm, ahhh, they seemed really impressed that they were giving it to me? Um-“

“They-they gave it to you, you didn’t, I don’t know, you didn’t pay for it, no coin, you don’t know if it’s like, cheap or expensive or…?” he asked back, thinking of the scary looks Vex gave him sometimes when he took a pricey thing (even after careful negotiations!) and feeling sorry for him.

“Yeaaaaaaaah, um, I… I’m guessing it’s top shelf? Uh, not that I would know, uh…” now there was pink creeping behind the beard, and Grog was feeling bad for making him troubled like that.

“Hold on, let an _expert_ take a taste” he offered, trying to remember what he had seen at those boring fancy parties in Emon when the “important” people were slurping around fancy booze but somehow that was “refined” and “cultured” or whatever.

Yep, that was definitely alcohol.

“Hmmm, yes, this is clearly the finest reserve of alcohol of the… Area. We shall enjoy this greatly,” he rambled, trying to fake his best Grand Poobah voice, “I commend you on your… acquisition of a great… Yeah!” he concluded, seeing the smile creep back on Kerrek’s face and knowing his job was done. He had a nice smile, Grog decided. Honest. Strong. It did help that the face around it was pretty nice to look at too.

He remembered the way they had walked side by side in the dungeon, and was glad to find that the same comfortable mix of chatter and warm silence was there now. They passed the rapidly emptying bottle and talked about Whitestone and Westruun, about the gang, life, death and how they could reverse that last one. Apparently this whole resurrection thing wasn’t super common? Which wasn’t that weird now that he thought about it, but still, that meant his Pike was even more special than he thought.

“So yeah, before this group like, I didn’t even know people could _do_ that… cause you know, me, like, I can’t do anything like that… Have you-have you ever done one of those…?”

“I… No. No, I…”, he sighed loudly, “I looked into things like that, but I’ve never known anyone who’s actually come back.”

At that, Kerrek seemed to fold inside himself, like Vex or Percy did sometimes when they were sad but didn’t want to show it. Grog felt something hurting inside his chest and felt the need to pull Kerr closer, to protect him from the sadness, and let an arm go halfway around the hairy man, who didn’t really seem to mind. By experience, Grog knew he wasn’t very good at helping people with their emotions, but he knew that at least he could keep them warm and safe while the bad feelings did their thing.

“And has it always been… Do you need a body?”

A body? Maybe it was the fact that Kerr was now leaning against his arm or that he was looking hopefully at him or that the alcohol was starting to make his head dance, but he answered in a slightly higher pitch than wanted:

“F-for what? Like, to stay warm at night? Or for resurrection?”

Kerrek’s ears turned a little red at that (well, his whole face was red from the booze, but you could still tell), and answered in a lowered voice that he wanted to know if they had ever brought back someone with no body. Which did made more sense, Grog admitted to himself, though he was still slightly bummed out.

Oh right, answering the question.

“Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm no?”

“… I expected that couldn’t happen”

“Okay, cause that would be weeeeird – what would you use? You can’t bring along, like, a tea cosy and be like, BANG, you’re back! Like how would that even work? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly, how are- how would any of that work?”

Ah, good, now they could laugh again. Grog didn’t really understand why that subject was brought up, but at least the mood was less dark now. He was about to go back to that other option for needing a body when Pike flung open the door of Scanlan’s room behind him, making him jump at least seven feet in the air and pushing his heartbeat, already going fast, to almost rage level.

“What. Are you _drinking_. And why. Didn’t you bring some to _me_?”

Oh no.

“Shit, really good point, we might be in trouble Kerr”, he said, shooting a look at the now very drunk paladin.

“I… have made a terrible mistake. But, it is one that I can fix”, Kerrek answered, looking a bit flustered for some reason, “This is why the gods gave us two hands! I will bring back two bottles.”

Amazing, what a good guy with smart thinking, and, now that Grog could see him walking away, a great a-

Ahem.

Grog turned around and started talking with Pike about this whole having-two-hands thing, and soon after Percy also showed up, with one of those unreadable expressions he wore sometimes. As soon as Kerr came back, they went inside Scanlan’s room (was that weird? Not weirder than when they had slept around Percy on Glintshore at any rate). Percy started talking about some weird stuff, like how your life isn’t your own and how nothing is fair and Grog was really lost for a bit there, but he ended that with a toast so that should mean the overall thing was good. Kerrek was also stripping out of his armor at that point, so that was a little distracting.

The rest of the night was a bit blurry, as they downed more of the fancy booze, and for some reason they ended up putting Scanlan in a nightgown and covering everything in pudding? One thing he _did_ remember was that Kerr was awfully good with knots.

As everyone was getting tired and drunk, they all decided to go back to bed, with Pike saying she’d stand guard for Scanlan (it was impressive how much she could drink without getting fumbly, especially considering her little body, but Grog already knew she was a monstah). Kerrek having trouble standing, he offered him to carry him to his room, to which he answered a drunk mumble that sounded like a yes.

Of course, Grog was used to carrying people, but usually they were less warm and cuddly and good-smelling than this. And heavy, but that wasn’t really an issue. What was one, though, was that for some reason Kerr’s room was in another tower of the castle, and so by the time he finally found it he was starting to feel sleepy and dizzy himself. He still did his best to lay him down as gently as he could in his bed. Unsure of what to do next, he was getting to leave when he heard a quiet voice call to him:

“Stay.”

And to be fair, the bed looked very soft and he was very tired and drunk and Kerrek had one of those soft smiles that lit up the room; and so Grog left his weapons and the bag of holding on a chair nearby and crawled next to the paladin, who proceeded to wrap himself around him while laying his head right over the giant scar on Grog’s chest. His beard did tickle a bit, he thought as he closed his eyes and smiled, but this feeling was totally worth it.

Yes, Kerrek was definitely shaped like a good person; he was also a shape that fit perfectly with Grog’s.


End file.
